Ice fishing of the general type with which the present invention is concerned, has long been practiced as a winter sport, and it is done through a generally cylindrical hole in the surface of a frozen lake, stream, or the like. A fishing line is lowered into the water through the hole, and a variety of fishing equipment, including poles and devices for supporting the poles, have long been employed to retain the line. However, due to the extreme cold weather in which such fishing is carried on, a brisk wind blowing across the opened hole in the ice can cause the hole to freeze over before the fishing activity is completed. Furthermore, the wind can often blow snow and chips of ice and the like, across the opened hole, which can obscure and plug the hole.
In an attempt to overcome these problems, covers have been used to close over the ice hole to help insulate the ice hole from the cold ambient temperatures. However, the wind can cause the hole to become exposed to freezing temperatures, by dislodging the cover which seals the hole.
There have been several other attempts to prevent the ice-bound hole from becoming frozen over, to reopen the frozen hole, and to fix the cover securely to the hole to avoid the dislodgement thereof. Such conventional attempted techniques are best illustrated in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 2,799,146; 2,838,196; 2,877,595; 2,914,926; 3,056,272; 3,059,451; 3,813,891; 3,464,137; 3,466,781; 3,555,827; 3,999,322; 4,218,840; 4,438,757.
The foregoing conventional devices have proven to be less than totally satisfactory. One such device is described in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,757, as including a double walled tubular member heated by a circulating fluid, for causing the dislodgement of a block of ice from the frozen surface.
Other conventional devices have been designed to prevent ice fishing holes from freezing when not in use, and to secure a cover over the holes. For example, as described in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,555,827, a plug has a relatively complex pressurized shell, and a cover is secured to the shell by hold-down brackets to prevent it from being dislodged by the wind. However, when the plug is installed inside the hole, the hole can no longer be used for fishing.
Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have a new and improved ice fishing assembly which effectively prevents, or at least retards, the ice fishing hole from freezing over, and which is relatively simple and inexpensive to produce, use, assemble, install, and disassemble. The fishing assembly should be light in weight and sufficiently compact to facilitate transportation and storage. It should prevent the ice fishing hole from freezing over, whether the hole is in use, or not in use. Moreover, the fishing assembly should not prevent the user from fishing when the assembly is installed in the fishing hole.
Furthermore, the fishing assembly should not be accidentally uncovered readily, nor dislodged from the hole by the wind. It should give a visual indication whenever a fish strikes the bait, and it should accommodate various fishing techniques, such as fishing poles or drop lines. Additionally, it should fit ice holes of various sizes and irregular shapes.